"For years now, Linux has been a black sheep standing in the shadow of Apple and Microsoft. Despite having a fervent and enthusiastic following, the operating system hasn't been able to grab a sizable share of the computing market and has instead been content to subsist on the customers that come away dissatisfied with the mainstream competition. But that may be about to change. With the release of Microsoft Windows 8 on the horizon, some are saying Linux may have a great opportunity to steal a significant share of the market away from Microsoft, allowing it to finally take the helm as a major operating system service provider." This has to stop, and the only reason I'm linking to this nonsense is to make this very clear: Linux will not magically conquer the desktop or even make any significant gains because of Windows 8. People who don't like Windows 8 (Vista) will continue to use Windows 7 (Windows XP). This is getting so tiring. And does it even matter? Linux is winning big time in the mobile space, server space, and countless other spaces. The desktop is and always has been irrelevant to Linux.

Most people use computers to get work done (or to have fun), not because they feel strongly about a specific GUI paradigm. In fact most of those computer users don't even know what the term "GUI" stands for.

To think someone is going to get so worked out by having to press the windows key in order to access the start screen, as to say "Screw this! I'm installing linux" is borderline delusional. Really.

Plus I am sure 3rd parties will have a "start" button utilities for the desktop mode in no time.

What linux needs in order to get any significant foothold in the desktop space is an exclusive "killer app." But I doubt that happen soon (if ever), since most of its community is concentrated in copying other platforms' apps.

I think you strongly underestimate the issue of ergonomics in the user interface. Interfaces which inhibit workflow, rather than helping it out can really strongly frustrate users (and for valid reasons). Since personal preferences can differ it can be to a degree subjective.

I think you strongly underestimate the issue of ergonomics in the user interface. Interfaces which inhibit workflow, rather than helping it out can really strongly frustrate users (and for valid reasons). Since personal preferences can differ it can be to a degree subjective.

Yes and for those people there is Classic Shell and Stardock's Start8, both free, both can be found by typing "how to kill metro" into Google, and both take less than 3 minutes to give Win 8 a stanard Win 7 style UI.

So tell me friend, which do YOU think will be harder for a user? Typing a single sentence into Google, followed by running a single program, or learning an entirely new OS, with new ways of finding and installing programs, new names for everything you use (and some things will have no equivalent so you'll have to deal with the mess that is Wine) and completely relearning how to get from point A to B?